Inquisitor: The Harbinger
by Sigma-Theta-Phobos 141
Summary: The autobiography of a old man, in the grim darkness of the far future.
1. Chapter 1

I remember being sad, all the time. I remember looking towards the vast plains, when I was 9, watching the machines come and go, tending to the crops with other thousands of our vassals collecting the ripe wheat with small scissors. I remember my tutor, the old Felix, teaching me that Grion IV, our world, was covered with crops to feed the armies of the Holy Emperor. Our system was far from the sector's capital but was in a good distance of the biggest provider of the sub-sector – Epirus – and we were a viable way to increase its food output through realspace transports. It was the last day I looked out towards Grion IV.

My Father, Hildebrant De Clare, Planetary Governor, moved my mother to Holy Terra before I was born, so I could be born a Terran. Family traditions. I moved back when I was 5, and I barely can remember who frightened I was on looking the Ship getting bigger and bigger as our transport got closer. I remember him talking about being compliant with the law and about paying his debts and tithes, and how far could an honest man reach, if he was cautious and intelligent. Long years after his death I could know more about him, a figure that I saw so few times.

I remember the hurry which we fled when the vassals turned against the imperium, and the horrible sweet smell of daemonic parfum. I remember the tall, dark figure who followed us until the ship. I remember the several questions, the headaches, the old bald woman looking at me, her eyes a silver blank.

I remember the station where Father find us a place to stay. Floating in the borders of nothingness, using distant oaths and favors to the Adeptus Mechanicus, we lived in a place where we were but strange guests. I remember crying when I couldn't sleep, due to the constant humming noise that the augurs made in my head. I remember my Father insisting that I should learn all that I could from the Techpriest who became my tutor, when I was 11. Udator Ilx, of Gripphone IV, told me many things that I still know, and was the one who started to prepare me for what would become my career.

I remember that Father sent me to the navy when I was 13 with a letter to his friend, Captain Lucian Thoss of the Gothic - Class Cruiser _Harbinger. _Soon I discovered his fame of being a hunter across our sector, feared by all those who made the Imperium as their enemies. A master of patrols, he knew where to lay waiting for slavers, raiders and corsairs. A legend, usually hunting alone and against all the odds. He was a tall, gaunt man of dark skin and blue eyes. He seemed happy to read the letter, by briefly showing his bone white teeth in a discreet smile. Probably a jungle worlder, his skin was covered in ritual scars.

Life as a midshipman was harsh. Nothing as beautiful as our world once was, I've saw in many years. Drills, reports, exercises, chart reading, constant scrutiny. I remember one time a colleague was flogged due to his incompetence. The example made got me adequately. I slept less, studied more, and almost never got a reprehension.

By following the manuals and never skipping the gymnasia, I became strong. By studying hard, being precise and dependable, I became noticed. At 15, I started to assist third lieutenant Carter in his press gang. I remember how excited I was just to wear the armor, and how ashamed I was that my holster wasn't heavy with a gun. I remember the first time I was ordered to wrestle a veteran crewman of a merchant vessel. His body felt like pure rockrete while I tried my best to put him under control, preventing his escape through the corridors. My teeth felt loose for several days after.

Through several occurrences we engaged and were engaged in fierce battle. The Gothic-Class wasn't the safest vessel in the Navy, so Captain used his tactics and hard-earned experience to ensure we were in advantage most of the time. "Lone Cruiser, dead cruiser" our crew said. The truth was that Captain Thoss knew the Harbinger just like he knew his prosthetics and neural implants. I had plenty of opportunity to learn how to be cool under stress, in its majority by trusting that bigger vessels could be domesticized and subdued by the Harbinger legendary surprise attacks. I remember an occasion where a scarred first-lieutenant told legends to the younger colleagues about how some of the ratings believed the Captain as a saint, capable of confusing the enemy and bending the space to his will.

I remember how observed the way that Lt. Carter acted, how he talked, how he looked over the crew manifesto of the merchant ships we boarded and knew just how its captain was blatantly lying. I took mental notes of everything I saw and heard, so I could be of use if asked something. One day we found hidden crew aboard the _Xerxes_, a vagabond-class merchant vessel in his way to Myre, and that was the first time I really saw how crude and ruthless we could be as humans in the human-taming business.

I remember how I looked at my reflection one day. The noble boy now had scars on his face, bruises, expression marks. His chest was wide, his shoulders strong. He was experienced in crowd control and knew well how to bring a man down, even if it was a seasoned voidsmen on the run. The noble boy became respected by the armsmen who served with him in many boarding operations, viewed not anymore as the paper boy, but as another man-at-arms.

The noble boy now knew well how to wield a knife, how to flick a shock baton and how to proper operate a stub gun. Vessel's corridors were cramped, as were alleys and filthy pubs, and I learned very well about moving through these environments, zapping those who seemed stronger amidst the confusion, and leaving them to be picked by the Lt.'s crew responsible by the chaining. Those two years made me strong by the day.

At 17, I became an Ensign. It was also when the Orphean War broke out. Also, my Father was still in Harrow Watch when it was hit. I received this news in some days' time. All of them shook me in a different way. Abruptly, I had a tremendous sum of coinage and assets, and influence somehow. The last of my family's Servants was Roderick Bardolph, who was sponsored as a merchant by my Father, and lived on Ophelia VII. Bound by contract, he was to keep and invest all the riches from my father's death until I completed 21 and became an adult, as goes my family's tradition. I'm glad he kept his part of the deal, even with some convincing being needed.

We were detached to Bakka to regroup, refuel and fill the decks to the brim with whatever munitions and supplies, and then to Amarah Prime, by order of Imperial Governor Calibron Laan, with many the sector's vessels. After some news of planets being razed by the day and of worlds being left defenseless, there was some talks of insurgence between the ratings. I remember the order of a communication blackout between the ranks. I remember the sound that the Emperor's Mercy did while the commissar administered it somewhere close.

I was at my post when I saw the first Officers hurrying themselves while dressing or checking their sabers and pistols. A few seconds later, the alarm went off. All hands on deck, we were entering realspace in a weird angle. I remember the gravity feeling funny under my feet while I ran towards the Armory, bumping into almost anybody who moved in the other directions. I put on my void suit as fast as I could and grabbed a rifle. My position was in the starboard corridors, defending against boarding enemies. I remember asking a lieutenant about the status on Amarah. His face was pale, his voice cold. He didn't knew what was going on. Nobody did.

When we jumped into realspace, I remember seeing the distortions and flares on the sun through a porthole just before it was locked. No proximity alarms sounded, nobody talked anything. Men manned its posts, loaded their weapons, and waited.

Under us, the planet was dotted with the fires who managed to pierce the thick clouds that covered its surface, while the orbit was ablaze with amber and emerald discharges, fiery rubble from the stations destroyed and the confusion left in the Necrons approach. Augurs couldn't pick nothing, literally no sign of enemy ships. Voxes could barely work, due to the solar emissions. I could feel the push the engines produced.

Acting fast after the jump, Captain ordered maneuvers in order to get the Lance in a good angle. Rather unnoticed at first, the _Harbinger_ made itself respected when it tore open a Necron Cartouche-class light cruiser. The reports, later, registered that this first contact broke a full quarter of the fleet, either destroyed or disabled. Captain Thoss somehow anticipated this, and due to our position being somewhat out of formation because of our late arrival, he could make out of the enemy's barrage.

After a superb demonstration of command and strategy, dodging some of the direct hits, carefully deflecting others with well controlled void shields, the Harbinger became crippled due to an indirect particle whip, the same who tore the _Talisman of Grace_ in two. Our void shields, drained. Our generators, at its limit. Fires broke out throughout our Ship. I remember the tension in the air, while we passed around the las rifles to the crew who moved at double time towards the other parts of the ship. We couldn't fight and barely could run. I could hear the Lt. Carter's distorted Vox. We were to be boarded at any moment. I remember looking into the faces that surrounded me, some tense, some decided. Brute and battle-scarred voidsmen from all over the segmentum, all trying to survive another day.

We all braced when the contacts were made. We could hear the Hull being cut. Some armsmen rubbed their faces and hands against the walls, gathering strength from our beloved vessel. We all heard the magnetic clamps attaching. Ancient customs, sanctioned prayers in high and low gothic, amulets, everyone used anything available to get ready for the moment. The green discharge howled throughout the corridor while puncturing the bulkheads and blew 3 men some meters behind us. I remember the flesh and skin melted from the overhead to the deck, and the smell of burnt hair. The gravity rays from the enemy's harvest ships made menacing noises on the outside walls. It was a matter of seconds now, for we either be completely pulled apart, burnt or boarded and flayed. Then the whole fleet watched as _Fidelitas Lambda_ rammed through the enemy's Tomb Ship.

A victory, they said.

The Harbinger was towed to Amarah Prime's high orbit, for whatever repairs could be made at haste. We conducted impressment on the surface as fast as we could, to suffice the losses caused by the fires and decompression. Three thousand conscripts and five hundred crewmen were needed in the _Harbinger _to make it operational at nominal levels_, _and migratory masses fleeing the destruction were easy prey for us, I remember. In fact, it was the easiest impressment that I ever made. When we were ready, we departed carrying Necromundan troops and supplies towards Laymon, the rest of the population left to their fate. There my first real life nightmare begun.

As we docked, a group of arbites boarded, asking for me directly to the captain. I was called and sent with them, and I didn't make no questions and surrendered my weapon. I was conducted to an Arvus Lighter who bore the arbites Symbol in its hull. When it took flight, I was zapped, then three of then jumped onto me, trying to put me in cuffs. I struggled the best I could, until a cold voice said that I was being arrested by order of the Holy Inquisition. As I heard it, my body stopped promptly, and I offered my hands.

I remember the blindfold. The rag smelled like old sweat and dried blood. I walked through halls and corridors, climbed steps and then entered an elevator, downwards, 5 floors according to the different sound it made in regular intervals. Your ears become very sensitive to height and width changes, and the simplest noises become easy to listen in the huge vessels of the navy. I was sat at a chair, my hands chained between my legs. After the door closed, Silence. It was hours until I heard another noise. All those hours, I felt my head being messed with by psykers, looking for corruption and buried secrets. I remembered the feeling. It's strange how you feel their rummaging through your head, some of them more discreet, some more aggressive. They try anyway they can to make possible traitorous thoughts to surface. I've recently acquired the transcription of my… interview.

[+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ =][= +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++]

[++++++++++++++++++++INTERROGATION OF SUBJECT 14481837-Sigma++++++++++++++++++]

Day 1

[+ Instructions, By Interrogator Katia Mitrovic:]

[+ Escalate through the interrogation levels as fast as possible, by order of the Inquisitor. Refrain from staying on level 9 for periods longer than 5 minutes.]

[+ Subject's health must be kept at recoverable levels. Major mutilating procedures are to be absolutely avoided.]

[+ Rubric of Protocol is to be looked upon to further guidance on procedures and tactics of interrogation.]

[+ Time is a luxury but wearing down the Subject will grant his future compliance.]

\- Ensign Augustus De Clare, of the _Harbinger_, I'm Judge Alaric Thomas. You've been brought here to pay clarification on your planet's destiny, by order of the Holy Inquisition. I hope that you'll cooperate.

\- I thought that it was a kidnapping, and I resisted. I'm cooperating, Sir.

\- What do you remember? We are fully aware that you were but a child, but try your best.

\- I don't remember much. I remember that one day there was smoke on the horizon and explosions. We fled, Sir

\- What about your mother?

\- Pardon, Sir?

\- Where she was at that time?

\- I don't know, Sir.

\- She was at the ship with you and your father?

\- I don't remember, Sir.

\- What do you remember of her?

[+subject kept silent for 0 min 13 seconds. Bodily Temperature rising. Heart Rate: Nominal. Eye movement: Up/Right]

\- Well, Mr. De Clare?

\- I can't remember, Sir.

\- What was her name?

[+subject kept silent for 0 min 11 seconds. Bodily Temperature stable. Heart Rate: Nominal. Eye movement: Up/Right]

\- I can't remember, Sir.

[+Judge Alaric shows the subject a pict-capture of a human female, young, in a yellow dress of high standard, custom made. It is known that the female was the subject's mother, Anastasia De Clare]

\- Do you remember this face?

[+Subject kept silent for 0 minutes 14 seconds. Bodily Temperature stable. Heart Rate: Nominal. Eye movement: scanning steadily, left to right movement]

\- I don't know this woman, Sir. Nobility, I tally, Sir, by the pic-capture standards.

\- Tell us about your Father. What do you remember of him?

\- He tended to his businesses all the time. Tithes, crops, investments. We talked some very few times, the same ones where I saw him. He seemed to care about me when we moved to Harrow Watch. He arranged my commission into the Navy, Sir, and the best education available at a Mechanicus Station. Once he told me to be honest and careful, and that it made men go very far in life. I live by it, Sir, as our traditions demand.

[+Subject's left leg shows signs of minor involuntary contraction, signs of discomfort. Retract the hypodermic injector by 4 degrees, keep injection at minimal levels. Temperature Stable. Heart Rate: Nominal. Eye movement: Up/right]

-What were your Father's deals with the Adeptus Mechanicus?

-I've been told that he provided Myre with ore for the Forges, and the Techpriests tended to the engines who regulate better the atmosphere and tended to the crops more efficiently.

-Who told you this?

-Udator Ilx, my tutor while I was in Harrow Watch, Sir.

-He was?

-A Lexmechanic, from Gripphone IV, Sir.

-What exactly he taught you about?

-He showed me how to proper operate data slates and cogitators, and he knew much about the Imperial Cartography, having told me how to read star maps and identify possible hazards on navigation. He instructed me on Naval Law and about the ancient customs. He knew so much I admired him.

-I presume that you take joy in acquiring knowledge, Mr. De Clare?

-One's must study and prove its worth in order to serve well His Will, Sir.

-Are you a religious man, Augustus?

-As any good citizen should be, Sir, but a mere sinner.

-How was your service in the _Harbinger_, Mr. De Clare?

-My grades were above standard, Sir, and I recently got promoted to Ensign. I work for Lieutenant Ephraim Assefa Carter, on the 56th press gang, Sir.

-Your records show remarkable numbers. 91 boarding operations, honorable mentions to action under danger. "Outstanding physical capability proven against more than one opponent", says here on the report of the 72nd boarding operation, on the _Flambeau_.

-My satisfaction is to Serve, Sir.

-You can now drop the façade, Mr. De Clare.

-Sir?

[+Judge Issued Command 31: Double dosage]

[+Subject reaction+]

[+Full hypodermic injection, double dosage: Left Leg contraction.]

[+Temperature: Rising abruptly]

[+Heart Rate: High]

[+Eye movement: Erratic, noticeable pupil expansion]

[+Subject reaction evaluation: Nominal]

[+Taint evaluation: Inconclusive]

\- Your mother was one of the leaders of the cult who razed your planet, Augustus. Do you want to keep hiding your secrets?

[+Judge Issued Command 1: Taser]

[+Hypodermic injector at 0 degrees. Command executed]

[+Subject Reaction: Full body contraction. Clear signs of pain and confusion. Profuse sweat on the brow, neck and hands. Involuntary contraction follows.]

[+Subject reaction evaluation: Nominal]

[+Taint evaluation: Inconclusive]

-Sir, I know nothing of this! It must be some misunderstanding, Sir!

\- She was from the people, as your traditions demanded. She used your father's riches to spread the word of the ruinous powers and to corrupt a whole planet!

\- Sir, I don't know about this! I answered these questions when I was a child, just after it happened!

[REPORT]

[+Sister Amanda, Hospitaller, Order of the Eternal Candle:]

[+Subject Evaluation: Possible mind cleansing.]

[+Neural readings show no sign of directed efforts.]

[+Neural activity: nominal. Subject in exposition to a heavy dosage of psychotropics.]

[+No signs of struggle.]

[+Facial analysis shows frustration and confusion]

[+Subject reaction evaluation: Nominal]

[+Taint evaluation: Inconclusive]

[+Suggested action: Further questioning, reintroduce psychic mind reading to test and compare neural responses. Grievous Physical Harm is discouraged due to subject's general evaluation. Electroshock is suggested if the subject shows signs of mental strain or unresponsiveness]

[+Judge Issued Order 53: Begin Mind Scan]

[+Order Received.]

[+Requesting Sanctioned Psyker.]

[+Scholar Arcanum Odilo Dorais answered.]

[DATA EXPUGNED]

Day 12

[Judge Alaric, through Vox Caster]

\- Mr. De Clare, how are you today? Are you ready to cooperate?

[+Subject is silent. Minor facial movements are noticeable, but no sound is produced]

[+Judge Issued Command 6: Request Subject Evaluation]

[+Physical evaluation: Subject is diagnosed with advanced dehydration. Clear signs of sleep deprivation. Significant weight loss. Noticeable rashes on the face, torso and arms, with probability of infection due to Subject's induced unsanitary conditions. Temperature: Above nominal. Eye Movement: null. Vital signs: Bellow nominal. Survival Probability: 1-2 days. Suggested course of action: Administer Vitamins through I.V. injection, suspend questioning for 6 hours.]

[+Neural evaluation: Subject shows reduced neural activity. Possible depression of the Central Nervous System, noticeable by involuntary contractions on the extremities. Diagnostic: Further questioning procedures can permanently damage the subject's neural system. Suggested course of action: Suspend Psychotropic administration, suspend electroshock usage.]

[+ Psychic evaluation: Subject shows no signs of taint, to this moment. Religious stimuli produce thoughts of hope on the subject. Otherwise, its thoughts are of his past actions, on where he could have wronged. Subject's mind shows deep signs of strain, due to his insistence on trying to remember his mother. Subject is convinced that answering the questions are the only way to prove his righteousness. There's no sense of anger against the Arbites representative. Hospitaller suggestion on Mind Cleansing is becoming increasingly plausible. Suggested course of action: Request information on the subject to the Holy Ordos in order to ascertain any registers of the procedure. Subject should be left be for some time. Religious services are encouraged.]

[+Taint Evaluation: Inconclusive]

[+Judge Issued Command 70: Relay report to Interrogator Mitrovic]

[Report Relayed]

[+Response:]

[+Introduce the suggested measures. Information will soon be gathered within the ordos. Maintain Psychic Reading while the cares are administered, maybe his relaxation will let something slip through.]

[+Confirmed. Measures in course.]

[ [DATA EXPUGNED]

Day 14 – Religious services conducted by Confessor Quintus

-Good morning, Mr. De Clare.

-Good morning, Eminence. May I ask your name?

-I'm confessor Quintus.

-It's a delight to be in your presence, Eminence.

-How are you feeling?

\- I'm grateful for the food I had, and the curatives administered to my wounds. I'm also grateful for the sleep hours and the opportunity to clean myself. I'm now fit for the questioning again. Praise be to the Holy Emperor, that I could recover fast.

-What are your thoughts today?

-I wish I could help in the investigations. I pray the Emperor to have mercy on my soul.

-Do you want to pray now?

-Yes, yes, I want.

-Any Requests?

-You said it's morning. Let's pray the Adulation, short form.

-A wonderful choice. Let's begin: O Immortal Emperor have mercy on us, miserable and unworthy that we are.

-Holy Emperor have mercy on us.

-O Master of the Galaxy: Protect your flock from the perils of the darkness.

-Holy Emperor protect us.

-O Keeper of Light: Guide our Darkened Path with your Radiance.

-Holy Emperor Guide us.

-May we be worthy of being in his service, so in our deaths we have purpose.

-O eternal Emperor, who alone watches us, and rules the tides and storms, be compassionate to your servants, preserve us from the perils of the warp, that we may be a safeguard to the domain of men.

-That's an appropriate prayer. Do you have anything to confess, Mr. De Clare?

-Yes, I do have, Eminence.

-Do you know the procedure?

-Holy Emperor absolve this wretched creature, unworthy of your grace, for I have sinned.

-How long since your last confession?

-I don't know how many days I've been here. My last confession was in the day of my requisition by the Holy Inquisition.

-Confess.

-I couldn't attend to the services and I've been unfit to sustain prayers these last days.

-Continue.

-I've remembered my worst sin. One so tremendous and so close to my soul that I couldn't see it. I was proud.

-Elaborate.

\- I was a sad child. All my infancy I couldn't do nothing but study. I was being groomed to become a Planetary Governor. I needed to understand businesses, calculus, noble customs, family traditions, sector and segmentum politics. I saw the lights of the holy days, saw the processions and heard the hymns. I wished I could get myself rid of that sadness. I wish I could be part of the parties. Celebrate His grace.

-Carry on.

-When it all happened, I became afraid. Those celebrations I wanted to be part of, in fact, weren't in Honor of our Holy Emperor. I didn't knew it. I was but a boy. I've embraced sadness and asked for absolution for my youth's wrong desires ever since. I was confused in those days, because I saw no purpose to me anymore. Without a planet, what was to be the purpose of me? But when I was commissioned in the _Harbinger_, things changed. There, I was nobody. By being nobody, I could build myself.

-Continue.

-Other midshipmen boasted their family's riches and how far extended their demesne, and how they would be captains in no time. The Progena were resolute in their discipline, taking nothing but the highest standard for everything. All I had was my name, two daily uniforms, a Full-Dress Uniform, studying materiel, a trunk with a padlock and a bunk. Nothing more. There, I had to show service and my value as a man. There, I learned the meaning of what my father said about honesty and caution. For the first time in my life, I felt happiness. But not vain bliss. I felt happiness in the service of the Mighty Navy and to His Holy Will, and my only wish was to become a better officer.

-Carry on.

-I was proud of my grades. Proud of my Gymnasia progress. Proud when I was designed to be Lt. Carter's assistant. Proud when we returned with a long chain gang to meet or even surpass our quota. I was proud when the voidsmen naturally shared their hard-earned experience with me. I was proud to pass through the trusted crew and be called 'Sir' not due to regulations or the outright fear of the lash, but due to earned respect and stories shared after the action. I regret all of this, but I'm still proud to serve in the Imperial Navy.

-Anything more?

-No, Eminence. That'll be all. I've struggled to uproot this grievous offense from my heart, but now I succeeded. May the Emperor have mercy on my soul and grant me a place in his shadow.

\- May the Emperor in his infinite grace let you be worthy of his gaze at the hour of your death. Pray the absolution litany repeatedly for 6 hours, then offer graces to His Mercy.

-Thank you, Eminence. I will.

[REPORT]

[+Psychic Evaluation: Subject showed no signs of deceive in its thoughts during the confession. Subject experienced a deep sensation of relief after its penitence was laid. Its thoughts are of gratitude. For all its penitence – made long on purpose for the clear results of this Mind Scan – the Subject only had brief pauses. At those intervals, it made the Aquila upon its chest, and asked for forgiveness. After 6 hours, a priest came to warn the subject about the end of its penitence. Its thoughts were again of gratitude. Somehow, this subject appears to be a hard adherent of the Faith, and its mind shows not a single indicative of corruption.]

[+Taint Evaluation: Inconclusive/ 68% chance of being unlikely according to Psychic Evaluation.]

[DATA EXPUGNED]

Day 40

[REPORT]

[+SUBJECT'S INQUISITORIAL RECORDS ARRIVED]

[+Summary and study:

-By order of Inquisitor Arkwright of Ordo Hereticus, the Subject's Father (Hildebrant De Clare) pledged allegiance to the Holy Inquisition by offering the Subject to an Imperial Mind Conditioning program.

-Subject was heavily traumatized after mind scans and investigation performed due to the events and associations that led to the purging of Grion IV.

-Results were conclusive in showing no signs of corruption in the Subject at the time.

-Data shows that the Subject went through a mind cleansing procedure, in – DATA EXPUGNED – at order of Inquisitor Arkwright of the Ordo Hereticus.

-Subject's mother was leader of the – DATA EXPUGNED – Cult to – DATA EXPUGNED – having raised civil unrest using the Planetary Governor (Husband) influence and assets.

-Grion IV was promptly purged by the Astartes from the Black Templars Chapter, who were in their way to the Veiled Region and answered the Distress Call. After several months of righteous war, the last heretic was purged without any major entity manifestation.

-Afterwards, augur analysis predicted the acidification of the atmosphere, and the consequent death of the world. Atmospheric correction would take 40 years according to Adeptus Mechanicus diagnostic. (VIDE REPORT SIGMA-331419)

-Grion IV former Governor, Hildebrand De Clare, was found not guilty of the planet's demise. He recently disappeared – presumed dead – at Harrow Watch.

-The De Clare Family has a long story on the Segmentum, being given its planet in 830.M38. Their association with the Adeptus Mechanicus is no secret, as it's a Millenia long tradition, long before they settled at their Agri-world.

-Their only surviving vassal, Roderick Bardolph, lives in Ophelia VII. He was sponsored in its Merchant Charter by Lord Hildebrand. At the time of the Grion IV crisis, no signs of corruption were noticed after throughout examination.

End of summary and study.]

[+Judge Issued command 40: Request Investigator Guidance.]

[+Command transmitted]

[+Records duly analyzed. Notes and observations sent for Inquisitor's analysis. Maintain plain questioning and vigilant mind scan. New courses of questioning are encouraged. Wait for further Instructions.]

[DATA EXPUGNED]

-[END OF FILE]-


	2. Chapter 2

It was a time of pain and uncertainty about my survival. The last entry of the transcript records marked 91 days. My tests graded me as 89% unlikely of corruption. To this day it was one of the highest grades I've ever seen. I remember that some days they allowed a brief walk around the cell, and in others I was chained to the wall, suspended by the wrists. I still feel they crack when I make some movements.

I remember when a Commissar brought me outside, I could remember the air being fresh in comparison to the stale recycled gas on the inside of the facility. We weren't on Laymon anymore, but I wasn't informed of my whereabouts at that same day. The commissar told me that I was being investigated in order to clarify Grion IV's situation, who had some "developments". During the time I was being held, the Orphean Decree had passed. The Harbinger was detached to escort the sector-wide retreat.

I, in other way, was free from interrogation and prison, but not from the Inquisition's grasp. Hours later, the commissar introduced himself as being Ingmar Caine, and would keep an eye on me. His heavy pretorian accent was unmistakable. He told me that he was my bodyguard by order of Inquisitor Pfeifer. If I knew something about commissars, was that they were experts on getting to know heresy by its subtlest ways. My babysitter was also a close watch to all of my actions.

I had my first solid meal after 91 days, I remember. An Arbites came along Commissar Caine that night. The arbites interviewed me about impressment. How I knew that someone was a good "candidate", that was the term he used. I talked about how we knew that crewman and ratings would receive better chow, and how work for them wasn't backbreaking as to the conscripts.

I Explained how crewman from the merchant fleet were necessary for their experience and know-how. Some inner workings of a vessel, in truth, are unexplainable, and just day to day observation starts to build an idea of its functioning inside your mind. Acquiring those professionals for man's Great Navy was a fulfilling work.

Then I was asked about boarding actions. I remember telling him that I knew my fair share about boarding operations, where the other ship is under the navy jurisdiction and stops for a nice and courteous search of illegal goods and beings, and if the Navy needed skilled workforce, some of it was requested.

But he wanted to know about boarding actions, the military one, while the battle outside raged, where you could be burnt to dead in a blaze of highly agitated particles from a ship's battery defenses. I never had taken part in any to that day. Every time we were engaged or engaged someone or something, my duty was to defend the corridors of the midship section, starboard side. He simply told me that I'll make it happen. My services were being requested at that very moment, and I took some time to realize.

In the very next day, I met my crew. That Arbites was Arbitrator Thomsen, who brought his 3 best enforcers: Bradley, Hayes and Mason. From their accent, Mordians. From their manners and posture, Progena. With them came another two man, burly and stocky. One had several face tattoos depicting cogs of different sizes, evidently from a Forge world, and the other had several augmentations in his cranium, and a bionic hand. They dressed in plain, worn, black fatigues. A couple of minutes later, came in Commissar Caine and two tall, hooded figures who produced a faint incense smell. Then I met my handler: Interrogator Katia Mitrovic.

She was a small woman. Her shoulders broad. Her face was masked, but the eyes cutouts revealed a glimpse of her scarred figure. Her voice was cold and emotionless, and told us to pay close attention. A servo-skull roamed in, and positioned itself above us, projecting a Large Imperial Vessel blueprint into the wall, some of the information made intentionally blank.

I can remember how she proceeded to tell us that that vessel was recently betrayed the Emperor, declaring its revolt in the Uhulis Sector and fled towards the storms of Judgement in the Caradryad Sector. We were to board the vessel and secure its bridge, so the Navy could reclaim it to its service. It was self-evident that the vessel wasn't important to the Inquisition. Further proof appeared later.

Commissar Caine introduced us all just as she left the room.

The two men in fatigues were Tempestus Scions of the Lambdan Lions, warriors who protected the Mezoa Forge World in the Gothic Sector, in the other side of the Galaxy. Their names were Weiss and Nacht, both sergeants. One of the tall hooded figures was an Enginseer from the Prefecture Magisterium of Mezoa, named Val Thoemke Lohr. The other one was Isaiah Modrak, a Myrmidon Destructor from the Mezoa's Auxilia. Both of them were not using their most impressive mechadendrites and Weapons at that time.

I remember being told to introduce my colleagues on the principles of boarding. The Vessel we were boarding had potent void shields and batteries who needed to be taken care of before we boarded. Enginseer Lohr assured me that we wouldn't need to be concerned about this because this matter was already been dealt with. It sounded confuse to me at the time. The blueprint showed clearly the bridge location, and the best place to board it was some 50 meters below it, in a service corridor who would give us access to the Officers mess hall, and then to the bridge. Besides it, we needed to take the armory and the engine room. The Enginseer told us all that several Skitarii rangers would board alongside us in other assault boats, to grant that we fixed our position in the bridge and took the remaining strategic points. The bridge was the mission. Our mission.

That said, Commissar Caine told us all that we were to board the _Kingslayer_, an Armageddon-Class Battlecruiser commanded by Xavier Garth. His records showed a controversial Officer who was demoted and promoted again several times in his career. Inquisition reports brought us the reasons. He was a notoriously greedy individual, who used his riches to bend arms, buy favors and open doors. He was suspected of dark dealings for a long time and just now, under severe Inquisitorial investigation, had publicly revolted against the Empire. His whereabouts could change at any moment, and action was needed.

That same night we boarded the_ Director_, a Sagittarius-Class Monitor-Cruiser in our way towards the traitors. I had no recollection of a ship so armed, and its Nova Cannon was a sight to see. From the porthole I counted 12 Turbo-Laser Blasters and Volkite emitters on its hull, and the first Macro Battery I can swear that it was a Hellstorm Cannon. Now I knew what the Enginseer meant at our briefing, and I was adamant on doubting the requisition mission as being Navy's business. Soon as we boarded, Magos Firth, the Captain, ordered maneuvers to the warp jump. I remember praying. Two days later we broke realspace again. The Warp storms spread its woeful colors in the distance.

I remember putting on a well-made carapace armor and being given a Mezoa-Pattern shotgun and Laspistol, both brand new. I took some minutes to get to know it well. We all met at the Assault boat tasked to us. Our Mechanicus companions looked menacing with their weapon's augmentics and mechadendrites, as did the arbites and scions fully kitted. I noticed a pair of large boxes near to the boarding door, properly fastened, but didn't paid attention at the time. Then, we waited.

Commissar Caine looked towards, almost in a trance, his grasp firm into his sword. The arbites checked and re-checked their gear, fastened and loosened their boots and grip's belts, trying a perfect fit. The Techpriests emitted binary bursts between themselves, in a heated discussion, while analyzing the oxygen dispensers they carried amid their multiple mechanical arms. The Scions were both quiet, by my side, but I could hear the implants of Sgt. Nacht functioning inside his helmet.

I remember feeling my hairs standing up. Then the lights dimmed a little. Then the recoil. It was the time, and some huge weapon had just been fired. It was the Nova Canon, I know now. When the lights came back to full force, just a couple seconds later, I felt another push. The assault boat was now into its course. I Could feel it accelerating more and more. I could feel the defense shells exploding just some meters outside of the hull, unable to match our speed. I remember the sound that its laser cutters made when they activated in order to soften the hull where we would hit. Then It took less than a second to hit into the _Kingslayer._

Melta charges detonated just outside the doors, and I could hear the atmosphere leaking towards the void. When the doors opened, a single word was said by our Commissar: Lacerare.

The crates tore open, and two Arco-Flagellants made their way into the Battlecruiser. We followed hasty in their path, our weapons ready, taking glances at the mutilated bodies left in their wake. An Electro flail makes a bloody mess, literally. At that time, I could only wonder what those howling creatures were. We ran upstairs, trying our best to not be surprised by any hidden shooting position. In the last two stair lances, we encountered heavy resistance when Enforcer Hayes had his head exploded by a slug. At the distance, we heard the poignant cries of our death beings while we delivered fire upon our entrenched enemies, hidden behind our arbites' shields.

The Vox came into life, with our Skitarii counterparts declaring progresses in their way towards the engine room, met with heavy battle for each inch of deck. They were already working on incapacitating the beast. Severing its generators, all the ship's servitors and auto turrets would deactivate, along its weapons and void shields. Enginseer Lohr sent a stream of binary through the transmission, who became silent just after.

Myrmidon Modrak took the front firing his Volkite weapon, tearing a clean hole through the entrenchment. Commissar Caine lobbed a Krak grenade right into it, almost as if they coordinated the movements. The hole became silent after the explosion. We pressed on, into the officer's mess hall. Behind the tables, in the far side of the room, some officers were entrenched, manning a heavy stubber. Sgt. Nacht ran towards the fire, taking cover behind a column. He put a stream of Las fire towards the raging machinegun. Trying to flank, Weiss and Mason ran. A trip mine went off, cutting Weiss in a half. Mason laid immobile.

Commissar Caine ordered me to drag myself as low as I could, while they covered me. I went towards Sgt. Weiss, the slugs flying centimeters above my head. A loud crack filled the room, with a blue flash. Enginseer Lohr got one of the enemies with a lightning discharge. I could see its dark figure behind the tables, burnt in place, while I dragged myself. Sgt. Nacht lobbed a grenade, who fell short. 4 explosions succeeded, declaring to all of us that the room was thoroughly mined.

The enemy received reinforcements, Las fire pouring unto us while the stubber reloaded. Seeing the opportunity Mason placed a few shots towards the enemy, but was shot just after, his arm torn to shreds by the heavy caliber slugs. I lobbed a grenade, who flew slowly towards the enemy's fortified position. It exploded in the air, pulverizing the gunner's head into his buddies.

Enginseer hurried himself to my position, reading his lenses towards the floor ahead of us. I remember him turning to look at me again, his human eye preoccupied. He directed himself towards a terminal, mostly ignoring the streams of brass and Las fire around him, but occasionally firing his radium pistol.

Commissar Caine came alongside me, and I promptly told that the path was entirely mined, except for some spots according to the Enginseer. The commissar ordered us to stablish a perimeter in the room. Then, he said "pronto" at his Vox caster, and some seconds later one of the Flagellants ran inside towards us, his arms low, his torso leaking through holes. I remember how his body was deformed, covered in hideous scars, some put together with plasteel staples.

Commissar modified some switches at the creature's upper back, I could see the body twitching due to the stimulants flowing. Giving the order again, it ran directly towards the barricaded door, howling and lashing it's pneu-mattock. It took 5 mines to finally bring down the creature, it's legs in tatters. After some contractions, it lifted again, using its arms to drag itself fast towards the entrenchment. We all stood in awe hearing the screams and the streams of blood flying amidst chunks meat. Enginseer Lohr scanned the area again, saying through the Vox that the path was clear for us now.

The door to the main corridor was barricaded from the inside. The Enginseer was trying to open it through the terminal, but it was welded shut. Sgt. Nacht pressed on to the door, placing a Melta charge he recovered at Weiss's body. Arbitrator Thomsem was tending to Mason, who was unconscious. We all gave it proper distance to the detonation.

I remember the second just after the detonation. An atmosphere drain is an awful experience, even with sealed suits. You can feel your flesh giving due to the abrupt depressurization. I remember Sgt. Nacht screaming. His side was grazed by a slug, leaving a nasty gash at his suit. Bradley tried his best to seal it using a plastic adhesive, but it was a lost cause. Nacht's oxygen canister crumbled due to the sudden pressure change. Commissar gave him the Emperor's Mercy while his body contorted, asphyxiating.

Our ears were still ringing when we charged through the debris of the door and barricade, to be met with heavy entrenched officers. I glimpsed at the mangled bodies of young midshipmen who manned that position as we rushed by, some damaged to the bone, its ribcage open, the organs frost.

A grenade flew close to Thomsem, who was caught in the open. A full blast made his belly, chest and face horribly burned, with some spots where the bare white bone appeared. Fighting our way through while Enginseer Lohr emitted arcs of lighting through his Augmentics, ripping it's targets apart, the resistance was amounting by the minute as the positions were reinforced by officers and crewman alike.

The muffled sounds of the weapon's fire due to the low oxygen in the room is a thing that I'll never forget. Suddenly, we saw the generators shutdown in work, while light after light was losing power on the corridor, and our feet's felt lighter on the deck due to gravity's fluctuations. Fighting in complete darkness wasn't expected to most of our opponents, but we were counting on it. Silently, we sneaked through the defenses, stopping to shed blood at every strongpoint.

A frozen screaming face at the void is something that gets deep into your mind. Slowly and surely, we made our way through, only shooting at those who could see us through similar devices that those we were using. I remember how a power maul can pulverize a head. At the Command deck's door, several servitors could be seen manning Stubbers and shotguns of many kinds and sizes.

Lohr crouched, being promptly covered by his Myrmidon, and made a faint, screeching noise. It was the first time I remember a noosphere connection. He took control of one of the servitors and promptly started blasting away the others. We followed suit, shooting at the others until none was left standing. As we approached our objective, our voxes came into life with static, followed by a low, harsh voice. The logs are with me, now.

\- Who's the Leader of you?

\- I'm Commissar Ingmar Caine. We are here to seize this vessel by the order of the Holy Inquisition.

\- Commissar… I'm First Lieutenant Martine. Our beloved captain became… indisposed, just after your completely unnecessary show of force. He was at the prow with some customers of his, all of them are most probably floating the void right now.

\- Surrender, Lieutenant, and you'll be taken to judgement for your actions.

\- You see, Commissar, our Captain was a resourceful individual. He amassed this very crew you just killed due to a shared goal between all of us. We want riches, Commissar, and to all of us its better to die rich than to be executed by your hand.

\- You just signed your sentence, filth. We're entering.

\- Commissar, it will be a common mistake of both of us if we let this happen. The whole ship is set to explode if I leave this very position I'm in right now. Captain Garth was pretty much obsessed with his possessions his safety measures were, well, extreme I can say. I followed your boarding and saw how you and your group dealt with the entrenchments, in the proper time. The door that separates us is also welded shut, and there's at least 50 capable man who want to keep their part of the Captain's inheritance left to us.

\- Surrender, Lieutenant. You already lost.

\- Oh Commissar, if you only knew how much you and your people have to lose if this ship doesn't keep its nominal integrity… How many models of weapons a STC can contain, Techpriest? How many formulas of different chemicals to be used in a myriad of applications? You at least wondered why the Mechanicus brought you, of all of the capable assets that the Inquisition possess at their will?


End file.
